My Little Pony: The Full Elements
by The Missing Elements
Summary: Now, we all know the story of Princess Twilight, and how she came to be, but what if we don't know the full tale? What if there are truly 9 Elements of Harmony? Well, this contains all 9 Elements, and the three brave mares who were forgotten by time.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, it's me! Well, you don't actually know me yet. I'm The Missing Elements! This is my first story! I hope you like it!**

A purple pony with dark a purple mane with a lighter purple streak and a pink streak with a matching tail, with a six-pointed star Cutie Mark with little stars around it, was reading a book and was reading about Princess Celestia defeating Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony.

"Elements of Harmony. Hm, I know I've heard of those before, but where?" She used her unicorn magic horn to pick up the book and put it in her bag. Then, she started walking towards the library, when she came across three ponies.

"There you are Twilight."

"Moon Dancer is having a little get together in the West Castle Courtyard. You wanna come?"

"Oh, sorry girls, I got a lot of studying to catch up on." She ran off again.

"Does that pony do anything except study?"

"I think she's more interested in books than friends."

"I know I've heard of the Elements of Harmony." Other ponies would wave to her, but she'd just ignore them and keep running. She ran into a library, knocking over a purple and green dragon holding a present. "Spike? Spike! Spike?" She looked down at the ground, where Spike was laying. "There you are." He got up. "Quick, find me that old copy of Predictions and Prophecies." He walked towards her, but the present was stuck to his tail. "What's that for?" He took it off his tail.

"Well, it was a gift for Moon Dancer." A ruined teddy bear fell out.

"Oh Spike, you know we don't have time for that sort of thing."

"But we're on break!" She used her horn to levitate a bunch of books.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Ugh! Spike!" He was on top of a huge ladder.

"It's over here!" Before Spike even let go, she levitated him and the book over to her, making him fall on his face.

"Ah." He let go, and she walked off with it, putting it on a bookstand while Spike was left to clean up the books. "Elements, Elements, e, e, e, ah, Elements of Harmony. See Mare in the Moon?" Spike was putting books back.

"Mare in the Moon? But that's just an old pony's tale."

"Mare, mare, ah ha!" She stopped at a page. "The Mare in the Moon, myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it that in the longest day in the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal." Spike was teetering and trying to keep the ladder from falling. "Spike, do you know what this means?"

"No." He fell off the ladder, but Twilight caught him on her back.

"Spike, take a note please, to the Princess." Spike jumped off her back and grabbed a scroll and quill.

"Okie dokie."

"My dearest teacher," as she spoke, Spike wrote, "my continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the precipice of disaster."

"Hold on. Preci, preci," he looked to Twilight for help.

"Threshold."

"Thre," he looked at her again.

"Brink?" He just looked lost. "Ugh, that something really bad is about to happen!" He wrote that down. "For you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is in fact Nightmare Moon, and she is about to return to Equestria, and bring with her eternal night. Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does _not_ come true. I wait your good response, your student, Twilight Sparkle."

"Twilight Sparkle! Got it!"

"Great, send it."

"Now?"

"Of course!" Spike shrugged.

"I don't know Twilight. Princess Celestia is a bit busy getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration, and it's, like, the day after tomorrow." She got in his face.

"That's just it Spike! The thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration. It's imperative that the Princess be told right away!"  
"Impera, impera-"

"Important!" She sent him flying.

"Okay, okay!" He lifted up the scroll and then burned it with green fire, sending the ashes somewhere. "There, it's on its way. I wouldn't hold your breath."

"Oh I'm not worried Spike. The Princess trusts me completely. In all the years she's been my mentor, she's never once doubted me." Spike just gave her a look, then burped up ashes that turned into a scroll. It fell on the floor. "See, I knew she would want to take immediate action." Spike picked it up and started reading it.

"Ah hem, my dearest, most faithful student Twilight, you know that I value your diligence and trust you completely."

"Mm hm!" She smiled proudly.

"But you must stop reading those dusty old book." She took in a gasp of shock.

**Later**

Spike was reading her the rest of the letter as they flew through the air, carried by two of the pegasi Royal Guards.

"My dear Twilight, there's more to a young pony's life than studying, so I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Festival, in this years location, Ponyville. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete. Make some friends." She moaned. "Look on the bright side Twilight. The Princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn't that make you happy?"

"Yes, yes it does! You know why? Because I'm right! I'll check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon's return."

"Well then, when will you make friends like the Princess said?" They started landing in Ponyville.

"She said to check on preparations. I am her student, and I will do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria doesn't depend on me making friends." They fully landed and got out of the carriage. "Thank you sirs."

"Maybe the ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about." A pony with a pink coat and a darker pink main came up to them, who had three balloons as her Cutie Mark. "Come on Twilight, just try." Twilight smiled weakly at the new pony.

"Uh, hello?" They gasped very loudly, then shot off.

"Well, that was interesting all right." Spike sighed as they walked off.

**Time Skip**

"The Summer Sun Celebration Official Overseer's Checklist. Number 1, banquet preparations at Sweet Apple Acres." They walked to a huge farm with tons of apple trees.

"Yee-ha!" They turned and saw an orange pony with a yellow mane, freckles, wearing a cowboy hat and with three red apples as her Cutie Mark, ran towards a tree, when she turned around and kicked it with her hind legs, making all the apples fall into a few buckets. Twilight sighed.

"Let's just get this over with." She walked up to her. "Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle." The mare grabbed Twilight's front right hoof and shook it like crazy with both of her front hooves.

"Well how ya do miss Twilight? A pleasure makin' your acquaintance. I'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Ares sure do like makin' new friends."

"Friends? Actually, I-" She stopped shaking Twilight's hoof.

"So, what can I do ya for?" Twilight's hoof was still shaking, until Spike grabbed it and made it stop. He laughed a little. Twilight straightened out.

"Ah hem, well, I am actually here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and you're in charge of the food?" Applejack smiled.

"We sure as sugar are. Would ya care to sample some?"

"As long as it doesn't take too long." Applejack shot off and ran a triangle.

"SOUPS ON EVERYPONY!" Tons of ponies ran past them, took them up, and put them at a yellow-checkered picnic table. "Now, why don't I introduce y'all to the Apple Family?" As she introduced each family member, they dropped a dish in front of Twilight, and some of them stuffed the food in her mouth. Then, she got to her direct family. "And this is Big Brother Macintosh, Apple Bloom, and that there is ol' Granny Smith." She referenced an old lady sitting in a rocking chair. "Up and at 'em Granny Smith! We got guests." She woke up and walked towards them.

"Wha? Soups up." She started talking in a way that Twilight couldn't understand her.

"Why, I'd say you're already part of the family." Twilight spit out her food. She laughed nervously.

"Well, okay. I can see the food situation is handled."

"Aren't you gonna stay for brunch?" She looked down at Apple Bloom, who was looking up at her with these huge, sad eyes.

"Sorry, but we have an awful lot to do." They did a collective group 'aw'. "Fine." They all cheered.

**A While Later**

"Food's all taken care of, next on the list is, huh? Crowd control, what's that?"

"Crowd control is making sure people don't get too over excited or get into fights during something important, in this case, the Summer Sun Celebration. They keep people calm so that no one causes any accidents. Who's in charge of that?"

"It doesn't say, but it does say that they should be at the day care around this time. Why would they be there?"

"Little kids get extremely rowdy and over excited. It's the perfect practice for keeping people under control. Where's the day care?"

"Not that far from here." They came across a really nice looking building, with a sign that says Miss Sun Ray's Day Care. They walked in. Inside, there was a red mare unicorn with a darker red mane, wearing a pink headband, and a tail matching her mane color with a little pink bow at the end, with three musical note with the circles in the shape of pink hearts as her Cutie Mark, and pink eyes. The kids were all in a huge fight.

"Looks like she's not so good at her job."

"Wait Twilight, look." The mare just smiled and closed her eyes. Her horn glowed pink, and little music notes with hearts instead of the circles came out of it. All of the kids started calming down as they each got hit with one heart music note.

"Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed. Drifting off to sleep, exciting day behind you. Drifting off to sleep let the joy of dreamland find you. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed." The kids all went to little mats and got underneath the blankets and went to sleep. She smiled. "Sleep well my little foals." She looked up. She walked over to Twilight and Spike. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "but this is a day care for foals, not baby dragons. I'm sure you can find a pet care somewhere."

"No, that's not-"

"Shhhhhh! I just laid the foals down for a nap. If you have something to talk about, can we please go outside?" Twilight nodded. They all walked outside.

"Anyways, I'm Twilight Sparkle." The mare smiled and nodded.

"Nice to meet you Twilight. I'm Song Shine. Is there anything I can do for you, other than take care of a baby dragon?" Twilight nodded.

"Well, I'm the supervisor for the preparations for the Summer Sun Festival, and I was checking to make sure that you could perform your job to the fullest of its potential. Now I know that you can perform your job well."

"It's nothing really. I just take care of the little foals when it comes time for them to take a nap, since Sun Ray can't always do that on her own. Plus, I just love foals." Twilight smiled nervously.

"That's nice." Song Shine gave her an excited smile.

"Do you like foals? Some people hate them so much, but they forget that they were a foal once too." Twilight nodded, a bit uncomfortable.

"That's true." Song Shine was still smiling at Twilight.

"So, what do you think about foals?" She was looking more and more uncomfortable.

"They're fine, I guess." Song Shine jumped up and down in excitement.

"Aren't they just the best things ever? I wish that I had some foals of my own." Twilight's discomfort at that point knew no bounds.

"Um, that's great to know."

"They are just the cutest things ever! Especially when they're sleeping, because they look so innocent. I know better, but they're still just little sweeties."

"I'm glad you think that."

"You know Twilight, I think we're going to be great friends." She went back in. Twilight's eyes widened.

"Friends?" Spike nodded, looking excited.

"Come on Twilight, people are trying to be your friends."

"Yeah, and they're all insane. What's next on the checklist?"

"Weather. There's supposed to be a Pegasus mare named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds." Twilight looked up at the sky, which had a lot of clouds.

"Well, she's not doing a very good jobs, is she?" Suddenly, a Pegasus mare tackled Twilight and they both landed in mud. She had a blue coat, with a rainbow mane and a rainbow tail, and a rainbow thunderbolt coming out of a cloud as her Cutie Mark. The mare laughed.

"Eh, s'cuse me?" She flew up. "Let me help you." The Pegasus went and got a rain cloud, then jumped on it, making it rain on Twilight. "Oops, I guess I over did it. How about this?" She started spinning super fast around Twilight until she became a rainbow tornado. "My very own patented Rain Blow Dry. No, don't thank me, you're quite welcome." She looked at Twilight and saw how her mane looked. She couldn't help but roll on the ground laughing, as well as Spike, who was laughing on her back.

"Let me guess. You're Rainbow Dash." She stood up, sending Spike flying.

"The one and only." She flew up and got in Twilight's face. "You heard of me?"

"I heard you're supposed to be keeping the sky clear." She sighed. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess sent me to check on the weather."

"Yeah, yeah, that'll be a snap. I'll do it in a jiffy. Just as soon as I'm done practicing."

"Practicing for what?"

"The Wonderbolts!" She pointed at a poster. "They're gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show them my stuff."

"_The_ Wonderbolts?"

"Yep."

"The most talented flyers in all of Equestria?"

"That's them."

"Please, they would never accept a Pegasus pony who couldn't keep the sky clear for even a day."

"Hey, I could clear the sky in ten seconds flat." Twilight narrowed her eyes as she smirked at Rainbow Dash.

"Prove it." Rainbow Dash went and then cleared the entire sky in ten seconds flat.

"What'd I say? Ten seconds flat. I'd never leave Ponyville hanging." She laughed. "You should see the look on your face. You're a laugh Twilight Sparkle. I can't wait to hang out some more." Then, she flew off.

"Wow, she's amazing!" Spike then messed with Twilight's mane a little and laughed again. Twilight started walking away. "Wait, it's kinda pretty once you get used to it."

**Later**

They were in town hall, where another mare was setting up decorations.

"Decorations. Wow, beautiful."

"Yes, the décor is coming along nicely. This ought to be quick. I'll be at the library in no time. Beautiful indeed."

"Not the décor, her." He pointed at a unicorn mare with a white coat, a purple mane and tail, blue eyes, and three diamond jewels as her Cutie Mark. She was levitating ribbons with her horn, which was glowing blue.

"No, no, no, oh, goodness no."

"How do I look, are my spines straight?" Twilight rolled her eyes and smiled, then walked up to the mare.

"Good afternoon."

"Just a moment please? I am in the zone as it is. Oh yes! Sparkles always does the trick, does it not?" She used her magic to tie a sparkly red ribbon to a post. "Now Rarity, you are a talent." She turned to Twilight. "Now, um, how can I help you? AH!" She saw Twilight's mane. "Oh my stars! Darling, whatever happened to your coiffure?"

"You mean my mane? Well, it's a long story. I'm just here to check on the decorations, and then I'll be out of your hair."

"Out of _my_ hair? What about your hair?" She ran over to Twilight. Then, she used her head to push Twilight towards somewhere.

"Wait, where are we going? I need to make sure the decorations are going to plan!"

"Silver Star can take care of that. She's the one who's making sure I completely follow protocol and the traditional decorations for the Summer Sun Festival."

"I need to talk to her too! Help!" Spike's eyes were hearts and he started levitating in their direction.

**Later**

"No, no, uh ah," Rarity was putting Twilight in several different outfits, "too green, too yellow, too poofy, not poofy enough, too frilly, too shiny," finally, she put Twilight in an outfit that she thought Twilight looked good in. "Now go on my dear. You were telling where you're from." Rarity grabbed two strings and started tightening the outfit. Twilight could barely breathe.

"I've… been… sent… from… Canterlot… to," Rarity let go of the strings.

"Canterlot? Oh, I am so envious! The glamour, the sophistication, I've always dreamed of living there! I can't wait to hear all about it. We are going to be the best of friends, you and I." Twilight looked horrified. Then, Rarity looked at the outfit. "Emeralds? What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!" Rarity left.

"Quick, before she decides to dye my coat a new color!" Spike sighed in admiration of Rarity.

**Later**

Spike was sitting on Twilight's back.

"Wasn't she wonderful?"

"Focus Casanova. What's next on the list?" He looked at it.

"Set up. We need to visit that pony Rarity mentioned, Silver Star, about that. It says that Silver Star would be getting ready in Town Hall. Wait, shouldn't we have seen her went we saw Rarity?"

"I'm guessing Silver Star is going to check to make sure that the decorations are in order for the ceremony after Rarity is done. Let's go." They went to Town Hall again. Inside was a Pegasus mare with a white coat, a silver mane and tail with golden streaks, yellow eyes, and a silver shooting star as her Cutie Mark. Silver Star sighed.

"No, no, NO! Blue is not an acceptable color to have in the decorations, and neither is purple, and certainly not black! Those are colors of the night, not day! I don't care how good they look!"

"Excuse me." The mare turned to Twilight. "Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I was sent from Canterlot to make sure that all the preparations go according to plan." The mare looked relieved.

"I'm Silver Star. Right now it's a disaster. Rarity is great at fashion and stuff, but she just can't follow directions when it comes to restrictions. I told her that it is tradition to not use blue, black, or purple. Those are colors that represent nighttime, and this is all about celebrating the sun. I think she did it though, just because I told her not to because it 'hinders her creativity' or something like that. Sometimes, I just can't stand her, even if she is one of my best friends!" Twilight looked impressed.

"Wow, you sure do keep close to tradition." Silver Star nodded, looking up at the decorations.

"It's more about honor than tradition. We're honoring the day, and honoring Princess Celestia with this festival, but if it's not done right, then it's dishonoring everything about it, even if it's just a few colors." Twilight smiled.

"Well, I can change that. What colors do you want them to be?"

"Well, the best colors would be yellow, red, orange, white, or pink. Green would be fine too, but not gray. Gray represents the time in between day and night, which is dawn and dusk. I'd be so thankful if you did do that." Twilight nodded, and changed them to those colors without making them look bad.

"There. Rarity will never know that difference." Silver Star smiled.

"Thanks. But now you still have a bunch of purple." Twilight looked shocked and confused.

"It's my natural coat color." Silver Star nodded.

"But still, why don't we try using a spell to turn your coat and mane a different color, just for the festival? I would do it because I'm gray, but no unicorn is willing to do it for me." Twilight's eyes widened. At first, she had thought that this one pony might be all right, but then she thought that Silver Star had gone cuckoo on her.

"Um, no thanks. I'm Princess Celestia's personal student, she'll understand." Silver Star nodded.

"Alright then. You know, I think we'll be good friends." She walked away. Twilight sighed and walked out.

"And just when I thought that we might've found a sane pony. Do we have anything else to do?" They left Town Hall.

"We've just got two more things. We just gotta check the guard's plans, and then music."

"Let's do the guard first. Who is it?"

"Some pony named Strongshield. It says that they'll be on a training course set up themselves not far outside town." They started walking away. "Hey Twilight."

"Yeah Spike?"

"If we're going to see the guard, then doesn't that mean your brother is going to be there since he's Captain of the Royal Guard?"

"Shining Armor? No, he wouldn't be. I guess this is your first year actually going, since you've slept through the other ones cause you've been a baby dragon, and still are. When Princess Celestia goes to another town instead of Canterlot, they have the strongest and best-suited pony in charge of the Royal Guard, to honor the town. If they do a good job, then they have the chance to go into training as a member of the Royal Guard, but if they don't do their job well, not as in harm comes to the Princess, but if they slack off and don't do things well, then they can never become a member of the Royal Guard."

"Oh." They came to the training course. A pony with a tanned coat, orange eyes, wearing armor similar to the Royal Guard, except for silver, was doing various physical training activities, like kicking posts, bucking off heavy weights, jumping over high walls, and things like that. Spike was amazed.

"Whoa, that's pretty impressive." The pony wasn't even panting at the end of it, which was going threw a bunch of moving projectiles. Twilight and Spike walked over to the pony.

"I'm guessing you're the person in charge of the guard tonight?" They nodded. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. The Princess sent me to make sure all the preparations were complete."

"Well, I'm glad the Princess thinks to be a bit more careful."

"Huh?" Spike and Twilight were both shocked by the voice they heard. The pony took off their helmet, and showed an Earth Pony, a mare with a spiked orange and yellow mane with a matching spiked tail smiled at them. Then, she shook of the body armor, which revealed a single silver shield for her Cutie Mark.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Strongshield." She saw the looks on their faces. "What, shocked that I'm a mare?"

"A bit. I've never known the Princess to pick a mare. It's always been a colt."

"I guess I've started a new tradition, since I won. She didn't tell me why she choose me though."

"Well, it seems that you've got the physical part down with training, but what about the mental? Physical strength isn't enough if, oh, somepony decides to kidnap the Princess and they do it from an unguarded spot." Twilight asked her this because she knew that when Nightmare Moon escaped, that Princess Celestia would be imprisoned so that she wouldn't be able to raise the sun. Strongshield smiled.

"I've got that all covered." Twilight looked curious.

"How exactly?" Strongshield waved her hoof to show her lack of worry.

"I've got it covered. That's all you really need to know." Twilight looked concerned.

"But-"

"Covered."

"But what if-"

"I've got it covered." She put her armor and her helmet back on. "You know, if you are who you say you are, then we'll be great friends." She ran back over to the training course.

"That was weird."

"Cheer up Twilight, we've only got one more thing on the list. Music. It's the last one." They heard birds chirping in a way that sounded like a song. They went to investigate. They saw a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane, blue green eyes, with three pink butterflies as her Cutie Mark. One of the birds was singing out of rhythm.

"Oh my. Um, stop please everyone." All the birds stopped singing. She flew up to a blue bird. "Um, excuse me sir, I mean no offense, but your rhythm it just a teeny tiny bit off." The bird nodded. She flew to be in front of them like a conductor. "Now, follow me please." She started waving her hoof around like a conductors wand. "A one, a two, a one, two three-"

"Hello!" Twilight's voice scared off all the birds. "Oh my, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten your birds. I'm just here to check up on the music, and it sounded beautiful." The Pegasus landed on the ground and looked down shyly. Twilight gave a forced smiled. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. What's your name?" She muttered really quietly. "I'm sorry, what was that?" She muttered again. "Didn't quite catch that." That time she muttered in a high-pitched scared voice. The birds flew back and landed on the tree again. "Well, um, it looks like your birds are back, so I guess everything's in order. Keep up the good work." There was an awkward silence for a little bit. "Okay." Twilight backed away, and then went over to Spike. "Well, that was easy." The Pegasus got really excited.

"A baby dragon!" She flew over to him pretty quickly. She dumped Twilight out of the way. "Oh, I've never seen a baby dragon before. He's so cute!" He turned to Twilight.

"Well, well, well!"

"Oh my, he talks! I didn't know dragons could talk! That's just so incredibly wonderful, I, I just don't even know what to say!" Twilight used her magic to levitated Spike and put him on her back.

"Well, in that case, we'd better be going." She started walking behind Spike.

"Wait, wait, what's his name?"

"I'm Spike."

"Hi Spike, I'm Fluttershy. Wow, a talking dragon! And what do dragons talk about?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Absolutely everything." Twilight sighed.

"Well, I started out as a cute little purple and green egg."

**A Long Time Later**

"And that's the story of my whole entire life, up until today." It was getting late by the time Twilight had gotten to the library. "Do you want to hear about today?"

"Oh yes please!" Twilight put a fake smiled and smiled at Fluttershy.  
"I am so sorry. How did we get here so fast? This is where I'm staying in Ponyville, and my poor baby dragon needs his sleep."

"No I don't." Twilight bucked him off.

"Oh, look at that. He's so sleepy he can't keep his little balance." Fluttershy took him up in her arms.

"Oh, you poor thing. You simply must get to bed." Fluttershy flew into the library with Twilight walking in behind her, but then Twilight pushed her out.

"Yes, yes, we'll get right on that. Goodnight." She closed the door. It was totally black in the library.

"Rude much?"

"Sorry Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming and we're running out of time! I just need some time to study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now, where's the light?" It got turned on and both of them jumped when they saw tons of ponies in the room and heard little party blowers going off.

"SURPRISE!" That pink pony she had met earlier popped up in front of her.

"Surprise! Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were you? Were you? Huh? Huh?" She started bouncing all over the place.

"Very surprised. Libraries are supposed to be quiet."

"That's silly. What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean duh, boring!" Twilight started walking away, but Pinkie Pie followed her. "You see, I saw you when you first got here, remember, and you were all 'hello' and I was all 'HHHHHHUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH', remember? You see, I never saw you before, and if I never saw you before, so that means you're new, cause I know everypony, and I mean _everypony_ in Ponyville," Twilight sighed and poured herself a drink, "and if you're new, you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends, you must be lonely, and that made me sad, and then I had an idea," Twilight put down the bottle she had and grabbed a straw, putting it in her drink and then she started drinking it, "and that's why I went 'HHHHHHUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH'. I just threw a great big ginormous super duper spectacular welcome party and invited everyone in Ponyville, see?" All of the other ponies that she had met came over to her. "And now you have lots and lots of friends!" She got a sour look on her face, and then it looked burning hot. Applejack looked concerned.

"Are ya alright sugar cube?" Whatever she had drank was so hot her mane looked like it was on fire. Pinkie Pie looked pretty dang happy.

"Aw, she's so happy she's crying." Twilight ran up the stairs. Spike grabbed the bottle she had poured her drink from.

"Hot sauce." Pinkie Pie dumped some on some cupcakes, and then ate the cupcakes. They were all shocked with her.

"What? It's good."

* * *

Twilight was lying in her bed with a pillow over her head. She raised her head and looked at the clock, then groaned. Spike walked in with a lampshade on his head, and some ribbons.

"Hey Twilight, Pinkie Pie started pin the tail on the pony. Wanna play?"

"NO! All the ponies of this town are CRAZY! Do you know what time it is?"

"It's the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. Everypony has to stay up, or they'll miss the raising of the sun. You really should lighten up Twilight. It's a party." Spike left, closing the door behind him. Twilight mocked his voice.

"And here I thought I'd have more time to learn about the Elements of Harmony, but, silly me, all this ridiculous friend making has kept me from it!" She turned onto her side and then looked at the moon, whose craters looked like a unicorn mare. Four stars were getting closer to the moon. "Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night." She levitated a book in front of her. "I hope the Princess was right. I hope it really _is_ just an old pony tail." Spike burst through the door.

"Come on Twilight! It's time to watch the sun rise."

**Later**

Strongshield was standing outside with three unicorn Royal Guards.

"Are those all the ponies?" One of the guards nodded.

"Yes."

"Raise the shield." The three unicorns rose up a magical shield as Twilight walked past her.

"See? Got it covered. Only Princess Celestia can get through this." Twilight spoke under her breath so that Strongshield wouldn't hear her.

"Or Nightmare Moon." As soon as she walked in, Pinkie Pie shot over to her.

"I'm excited! Are you excited? I've never been so excited, well, except for the time I saw you walk into town and I went 'HHHHHHUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH', I mean really, who can top that?" A couple of sleep deprived ponies were getting a bit rowdy, so Melody Calm used her magic to get them to calm down. Then, Fluttershy started her songbird choir as the mayor came out to speak to them.

"Fillies and gentle colts, as the mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" All the ponies started cheering. "In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this, the longest day of the year!" Twilight looked outside at the moon. Four stars went behind it, and then the craters that made the moon have the mare shape on it disappeared. "And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of Harmony to all of Equestria," Fluttershy's songbird choir started again, "Princess Celestia!" Rarity and Silver Star pulled open the curtain, but the only thing there was a dazed and confused Strongshield.

"What happened? Last thing I remember, some alicorn broke through the barrier somehow." Twilight knew what had happened.

"This can't be good."

"Remain calm everypony. There must be a reasonable explanation." The crowd became even more worried. "Song Shine!" The mayor looked towards Song Shine, whose horn was shining with a pink magic with a heart at the end of her horn.

"I'm trying, but it's not working! They're too scared! It's countering my spell!" Then, Strongshield started laughing.

"Foolish ponies!" Silver Star was wide eyed.

"Strongshield, you did this?"

"No, I am not Strongshield!" Then, she turned from Strongshield into Nightmare Moon. Twilight somewhat ducked down.

"Oh no, Nightmare Moon." Spike fainted and fell off of Twilight's back.

"Why, my beloved subjects, it's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun loving faces." Rainbow Dash got very mad.

"What did you do with our Princess?!" She tried to fly at Nightmare Moon, but Applejack grabbed her by her tail.

"Whoa there Nellie!"

"No, someone needs to stop her! She's ruining the honor of the Summer Sun Celebration!" Silver Star started flying at Nightmare Moon, but Song Shine used her magic to keep her from getting any further. Nightmare Moon laughed.

"Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

"Oh, oh, I love guessing games! Um, Pokey Smokes, um, how about Queen Meanie, no Black Snooty, Black Snooty!" Applejack shoved a cupcake in her mouth to make her shut up. She went up to the other ponies.

"Does my crown no longer count now that I have been locked away for a thousand years? Do you not recall the legend? Do you not know my name? Did you not see the signs?"

"I did!" She turned to Twilight Sparkle. "I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon!" The whole crowd gasped.

"Well, well, well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here." All the ponies started at her.

"You're here to, to." She started laughing.

"Remember this day ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last FOREVER!" She laughed evilly as her hair, which was like a mist, turned into a lightning storm.

**What do you think of my first MLP story? Please tell me!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, here's the next part.**

Nightmare Moon was laughing since she was going to take over Equestria.

"Cease her! Only she knows where the Princess is!" Three of the Royal Guard that were Pegasi started flying at her. She laughed.

"Stand back you fools! Are you sure you want to risk it? You can have me, fine, but would you risk her?" Some of her hair swirled and then showed Strongshield.

"Strongshield!" The Royal Guard started flying away to keep her safe, because they couldn't risk anypony's safety.

"What are you doing? Where'd you leave your guts, with your Mama? You think I can't handle myself? I'm the first ever mare to be chosen for this job, I'm pretty strong! Go on, attack her!" Nightmare Moon laughed.

"Quite the courageous one, aren't we?" Strongshield nodded, looking at Nightmare Moon.

"Yeah, and if I have to risk my safety to get the Princess back, I'll do it. It's my duty!" Nightmare Moon laughed and turned back towards the royal guard.

"Stand down, or the pony gets it!" Strongshield shook her head.

"Do not stand down!" Nightmare moon made herself look far more intimidating.

"DO IT!" The Royal Guard stood away. Nightmare Moon laughed as she turned into a blue smoke, leaving. Applejack released Rainbow Dash, who then chased after Nightmare Moon while everyone was making sure Strongshield was okay, who then berated her officers for letting her leave. She got away before Rainbow Dash could catch up.

"Come back here!" Rainbow Dash caught her breath. "Nighttime, forever?" She then saw Twilight Sparkle running out with Spike on her back. "Where's she going?"

**The Library**

Twilight put Spike in a little bed. He woke up.

"Twilight, we gotta stop Nightmare!" Then, he fell asleep again. Twilight put a blue blanket over him.

"You've been up all night Spike. You are a baby dragon after all." She turned of the light, and then went to the larger part of the Library and started tearing it apart looking for a book on the Elements of Harmony.

"Elements, Elements, Elements, ugh! How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?" Rainbow Dash flew in her face.

"And just what are the Elements of Harmony? And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy?" Applejack grabbed Rainbow Dash's tail.

"Simmer down Sally. She ain't no spy. But she sure does know what's going on, don't ya Twilight?" All of them came up to her. She sighed.

"I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don't know what they are, where to find them. I don't even know what they do."

"Why not read this then?" They all turned to Song Shine.

"Read what?" She levitated a book with her magic.

"This, the Elements of Harmony, a Reference Guide." Twilight looked amazed.

"How'd you find it?"

"It was filed under E."

"Oh." She transferred it over to Twilight's magic, which she then used to open the book.

"There are nine Elements of Harmony, but only eight are known, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honor, Love, Courage, Honesty, and Loyalty. The ninth is a complete mystery." Little to their knowledge, Nightmare Moon was listening to Twilight reading the book. "It is said that the last known location of the eight known Elements was in the ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters." Nightmare Moon, in her mist form, flew off. "It is located in what is now-"

**Far Away**

"The Everfree Forest?" They just stood there for a while.

"Well, let's go. I'm not scared." Strongshield started going in, but Twilight stopped her.

"Not so fast. Look, I really appreciate the offer, but I'd rather do this on my own."

"No can do sugar cube. We sure ain't letting any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone. We're sticking to ya like caramel on a candy apple." Silver Star nodded.

"We're not gonna leave you to do this all by yourself. You have my word of honor that I won't give up or leave your side on purpose until we've stopped Nightmare Moon and gotten the Princess back safe and sound. Well, I can't speak for the others, but I'm sure they'll do the same. I never go back on my word, especially my word of honor."

"I've always wanted to go in here, never had the time to." Rarity looked at Strongshield like she was crazy.

"How could you want to go in there?"

"It's not scary. It's cool." They all trotted into the forest.

"So, none of you have ever actually been in here?"

"Heavens no. Just look at it, it's dreadful."

"And it ain't natural. Folks say it don't work the same as Equestria." The miasma of Nightmare Moon went into the cliffs.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow Dash came out of the shadows in a creepy way.

"Nopony knows. You know why?" She was creeping out the others.

"Rainbow, quit it." Strongshield pulled on her tail with both her hooves.

"Alright, now you and I have the privilege of not being scared easily, so don't use it against them." Silver Star walked up to Rainbow Dash.

"It's disregarding your respect for others, and I won't have any of that."

"But Silver Star, nopony has ever come out alive." Then, everyone fell except for Silver Star, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy, Silver Star!"

"Oh my gosh, oh my goodness!" Rainbow Dash grabbed Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy grabbed Rarity, Silver Star got Song Shine, and Strongshield and Applejack saved themselves. Twilight kept falling, and grabbed onto the edge of a cliff. Applejack let go of the roots she had grabbed with her mouth.

"Hold on, I'mma coming!" Applejack grabbed onto Twilight.

"Applejack, what do I do?" Applejack looked up.

"Let go."

"Are you crazy?"

"No I ain't. I promise you'll be safe."

"That's not true!"

"Now listen here. What I'm saying to you is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe." Twilight's eyes grew wide, and then she let go. Twilight screamed in fear, because she was still afraid of hitting the ground. Rainbow Dash and Silver Star caught Twilight. They both put Twilight safely on the ground. She watched as Applejack jumped from precipice to precipice, with Strongshield following behind. The miasma form of Nightmare Moon then flew off. Once Twilight was on the ground, Rainbow Dash and Silver Star grabbed Strongshield. Song Shine looked to them.

"Let's get going girls. We've got a long walk ahead of us." They started walking. At one point, they heard a terrible noise. Fluttershy looked around, scared.

"What's that?!" Strongshield shrugged.

"I don't know." Applejack looked a bit creeped out, but kept one walking.

"Maybe if we just leave it alone, it'll leave us alone." Twilight nodded.

"Yeah, probably." Rainbow Dash smiled.

"But, there's always the chance that it's the Werepony coming to eat us all!" She jumped at a few of the girls and they screamed, but Song Shine glared at Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow, you know that Wereponies aren't real!" Rainbow Dash fell on the ground laughing.

"I scared you all!" Rarity looked pretty mad.

"Well, maybe you should try not scaring us when we're already scared enough as it is! Last time you scared us, just about five minutes ago, we all fell off a cliff! Next thing you know, a monster will jump out at us!" Suddenly, a hideous creature jumped in front of their path. It looked like a pony, but with a horribly disfigured face and its legs were all twisted. It gave out a terrible cry. They all screamed, short of Strongshield. Pinkie gave Rarity a look.

"That's scary accurate Rarity!" They all ran off, scared. Song Shine started running, but then heard the sound again and stopped.

"That's not the sound of a monster. That sounds more like the sound of a crying filly." She turned back and ran towards the monster. Twilight looked at her like she was crazy.

"Song Shine, you'll get killed!" Strongshield nodded.

"I may be brave, but I also know when to run!"

"Don't worry about me." She disappeared into the bushes. The terrible blue creature looked at her. It seemed to shout in her face. Song Shine trotted right up to the creature and rubbed it with her muzzle. "Oh, you poor thing. You're just lonely, aren't you? You just want some love, don't you?" The creature stopped howling, and everypony else could see the tears falling down from its distorted red eyes. It nodded at Song Shine. "You're just a foal, aren't you?" It nodded. "Well, you're a good foal. You didn't mean to scare us at all. You just wanted a friend to love you. Well, don't worry. I'll love you. It's what's on the inside that matters, and not what you look like." She smiled and rubbed her muzzle up against the creature's face. It smiled and rubbed Song Shine muzzle too, before it became a blinding light. Everypony had to cover their eyes as it turned into a unicorn filly with a short, curly gray mane, a gray, curly tail, pretty yellow eyes and an even lighter gray coat.

"Thank you so much! My name is Glitter Dance! I came into the Everfree Forest on a dare from some other foals a very long time ago. They promised to be my friends if I did, because I didn't have any friends. I fell into some plants that looked like a black unicorn horn. I've been stuck like that ever since, but I think you freed me!" She rubbed herself up against Song Shine's legs, while Song lowered her head down. Twilight thought that over in her head.

"Black unicorn horn? That sounds like Unicorn Curse, a plant that went extinct over a hundred years ago! It's a plant that curses whoever touches it by using its victims own insecurities. Glitter Dance thought she was unlovable, and so she turned into something unlovable. Until someone does something to prove their insecurities wrong, they'll stay like that forever, not aging, until someone breaks the spell caused by Unicorn Curse, unaware of the passing of time. She could've been here for a hundred, or even a thousand years!" Glitter Dance looked sad.

"Then, I don't have any family anymore?" Song Shine looked down at her.

"I'll be your big sister, how does that sound?" She jumped up and down.

"It's perfect!" She jumped around in circles. "Song Shine is my big sis, Song Shine is my big sis!" She said in a singsong voice as Song Shine smiled.

"Alright the, but, it's not safe here. I'll use my magic to send you to my home, how does that sound?" Glitter Dance smiled.

"It sounds perfect!" Song Shine's horn lit up, and then with a burst of light, Glitter Dance was gone. Twilight gave her a weird look.

"How did you know that she was cursed?"

"Honestly, I didn't have a single clue about that. But sometimes, you just gotta show some trust and give them a little love." They started walking again. Twilight smiled.

"I'm really glad that wasn't actually a monster and didn't want to hurt us." Then, something pounded on the ground.

"A manticore!" They all started fighting with it, short of Fluttershy. She kept saying wait the entire time. It wasn't until she shouted that it had worked.

"WAIT!" She stood in the way of the other charging ponies. Then, she walked up to the manticore, who was about to swat her. "It's okay." She rubbed her muzzle up against his paw. He saw her being kind and showed her his paw, which had a thorn stuck in it. "Oh, you poor, poor little baby." Silver Star looked incredulous.

"Little?"

"Now this might hurt for just a second." She grabbed the thorn and pulled it out, which made the manticore roar in pain. He picked her up and roared in her face.

"Fluttershy!" Then, it started purring and licking her.

"Aw, you're just a little old baby kitty, aren't you? Yes you are, yes you are." They started walking away, and then Twilight turned to Fluttershy after the manticore released her.

"How did you know about the thorn?"

"I didn't. Sometimes, we all just need to be shown a little kindness." Twilight smiled and walked away as the thorn turned into that miasma again. Song Shine looked impressed.

"That was pretty amazing back there Fluttershy. I though it was responsible for it's own actions, hence why I fought it too. I didn't even think for a second that it was hurt."

They kept walking for a while, until Twilight noticed something.

"The forest is getting thinner." They finally came upon a large meadow, with no trees in it.

"WHO DARE GOES ON MY LAND?!" A giant ogre appeared out of nowhere. "WHO GOES THERE?!" The other ponies got scared and ran off, but Strongshield stayed.

"I dare!"

"WHO ARE YOU PONY?!"

"I am Strongshield, a mare, and the bravest pony in all of Equestria, and I'm passing through here, with my friends!" He lowered his head down close to her face and yelled.

"NOBODY AND NOPONY GOES ON MY LAND! THIS IS NOT PART OF EQUESTRIA!"

"Look here pal, I failed in my royal duties to protect the Princess, Princess Celestia! It's all my fault that she's gone, and I have to do something to fix it! I don't care how big and scary you are, but I! AM! NOT! A! FRAID! OF! YOU! I will do my duty, and I don't care how scary you are, because I will never be scared of you, or anyone else! Nightmare Moon doesn't scare me, and she has powerful magic, so you don't scare me either, because all you've got are big muscles and a lot of talk!" The ogre smiled at her.

"Congratulations tiny pony! You may pass! You showed bravery beyond any I've ever seen! You chose to stand up for yourself instead of taking the safe path, all because of your courage and determination, but mainly courage! Not just anyone or anypony can go through my land, and you had the guts to tell me up, and yell at me! I like your spunk pony!"

"Can my friends come too?"

"No, they're too scared!"

"I! WANT! MY! FRIENDS! TO! COME! WITH! ME!" The ogre laughed.

"Alright, your friends may come too!" He got out of the way of the path as the others came out of the forest. Twilight was amazed.

"Strongshield, why did you do that? You could've gotten killed!"

"It's what I had to do. The Elements of Harmony are this way, and I don't think there's another way to where we're going. Choosing the safe path instead of choosing the scarier one, where your friends are, that's a coward's choice. We all have courage inside us, even Fluttershy. We just need to use it, and keep it close." They all started trotting away. Twilight had to smile at Strongshield's courage. She started trotting with them again.

"My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck." Then, it became extremely dark. "I didn't mean that literally."

"Those ancient ruins could be right in front of our faces and we'd never even know it." The miasma form of Nightmare Moon started seeping into the tree, making them have deformed trunks. Applejack lifted up her hoof.

"I think I may have stepped in something." Fluttershy screamed. "Calm down, it's just mud. Geez, I thought it'd be Rarity that screams over mud." Then, Applejack turned to face in front of her and saw the tree that made Fluttershy scream, which made her scream too. All the ponies, short of Strongshield and Pinkie Pie, started screaming.

"Everypony behind me! I'll protect you guys!" They all quickly got behind Strongshield, short of Pinkie Pie. She walked up to one of the trees and started laughing, making funny faces at it. "Pinkie Pie, I said get behind me! What are you doing?"

"Oh girls, don't you see." Pinkie Pie started moving her flank back and forth.

_"When I was just a filly and the sun was going down."_

"Tell me she's not-"

"_The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown."_

Silver Star looked exasperated.

"She is."

"_I'd hide under my pillow from what I thought I'd saw, but Grandma Pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all."_

Rainbow Dash looked confused.

"Then what is?" Pinkie Pie got up in her face.

_"She said Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall, learn to face your fears. You'll see that they can't hurt you, just laugh and they can disappear."_

She took in a breath and then said three things.

"Ha, ha, ha." The scary faces disappeared, and the tree returned to normal. They all gasped. Then, they all took to Pinkie Pie's method and laughed at them all.

_"So, giggle at the ghostly, guffaw at the grossly, crack up at the creepy, whoop it up with the weepy, chortle at the kooky, snortle at the spooky, and tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you want to LAUGH!"_

Pinkie Pie's song and laugh worked. All the laughing got rid of the scary faces of the trees, and everyone couldn't help but keep laughing.

**Later**

Everyone was still laughing as Pinkie Pie bounded away in the front. They both came to a sudden stop, with everypony running into the pony in front of them. They had stopped at a river that was very swollen and had very rapidly moving waters.

"How are we gonna cross this?" Then, they heard a lot of weeping. They were all pretty confused. The group looked through some bushes to see what was making that noise. It was a giant purple serpent with orange hair, and half a mustache.

"Oh, what a world! What a world!" They came out of the bushes.

"Excuse me sir, but why are you crying?"

"Well, I don't know. I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when with tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whooshed past me, and took off half of my beloved mustache clean off!" He pointed at the side where it was missing. "Now, I look simply horrid!" He started crying again and fell into the river, soaking the other ponies. Song Shine looked shocked and annoyed.

"That's what this is all about? A mustache? That's like when one of the foals gets upset because they get mud on her mane, or things like that. It's not important."

"Why, of course it is! How can you be so insensitive?" Rarity trotted up to the serpent in a dignified mannar. "Oh, just look at him! Such lovely, luminescent scales!" She stroked a few of his scales.

"I know."

"And your expertly coiffed mane!" With each thing Rarity said, the serpent became a bit happier and more pleased.

"I know, I know!" He stroked his hair.

"Your fabulous manicure!"

"It's so true!"

"All ruined without your beautiful mustache!" He fell into despair again.

"It's true! I'm hideous!"

"I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulousity go uncorrected!" She tore off one of his scales, and then used it to cut off her own tail. She used her magic to make it uncurly and match the serpent's hair, then made it a part it the serpent's face.

"Oh, my mustache! How wonderful!"

"You look smashing!" Twilight trotted up to her.

"Oh Rarity, your beautiful tail!"

"Oh, it's fine my dear. Short tails are in this season. Besides, it'll grow back."

"So would the mustache."

"But sometimes, my dear Rainbow Dash, you've got to put your own needs aside for the needs of others. Generosity is needed more in this world than anyone ever realizes." Twilight's eyes widened.

"We can cross now."

"No, allow me! This way, your hooves won't get muddy." The serpent made a pathway with his body. They walked across the path that the serpent had made.

Not long after, they came to a part with a lot of flowers. They were all very pretty, and many different colors, but the petal shapes and petal numbers were all the same, as well as the leaves. Silver Star had taken the front, and was going through the flowers.

"Come on, let's go." They all started going too, but Twilight stopped them before they could go through the small section of flowers.

"Silver Star, you need to get back here."

"Why?"

"These are-" Silver Star couldn't hear her.

"What are they?" Suddenly, she heard someone.

"Silver Star!" She looked around.

"Who's there?"

"Silver!" She found where the voice was coming from. It was a pegasus filly with a gray coat, a white mane and tail, with purple eyes.

"Comet Tail? What are you doing here?"

"I'm really scared Silver! I'm all by myself! I don't want to be alone."

"Oh, come here Comet." The strange young filly came over to Silver Star. She put her hoof over the filly's shoulders. "Listen, you don't need to be afraid. I promise nothing will happen to you." The other ponies looked at Silver Star, how looked like she had her leg around no one.

"What's going on Twilight?"

"That, Song Shine, is a hallucination. She stepped in False Flowers, which make you see things that aren't there. Silver Star obviously thinks she sees somepony." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"It's probably her sister, Comet Tail. She's always worrying about her because Comet Tail is a scaredy cat. She's always asking Strongshield to teach her to be brave, but she runs off terrified because Strongshield scares her."

"Well, whoever it is, she needs to figure out it's not real on her own. The False Flowers keep her from seeing or hearing what's real, and only sees and hears what's not. Once she figures out it isn't real, then the flowers will disappear, because reality breaking through turns them into what they are, which is not real." Applejack was confused.

"Beg your pardon?"

"Basically, true and false are opposites. If she can figure out what's true, then the true and false cancel out, which makes the False Flowers disappear."

"Oh. But what if she can't figure out what's real and what's not?"

"Well, False Flowers always try and ask for something. It's how they grow. If they can convince the pony to give them what they want, then the lie was a success, and they grow. If she doesn't say she'll give it to them, then she'll kill the False Flowers, and they'll disappear." Silver Star was still chatting with her imaginary sister.

"How'd you get here anyway?"

"I have wings, I can fly. Please Silver, come back with me to Ponyville! It's so scary, I don't want to be there alone."

"You can come with us Comet. I gave my word of honor to Twilight and said I wouldn't give up or leave this quest until we stopped Nightmare Moon and saved the Princess."

"But I'm so scared! I need you with me!"

"I gave my word."

"Then break your word!"

"No! I never break my word, and I'm sorry Comet, but there's no way I'm gonna break my word. Just go and find Mom and Dad. They'll protect you, but for now, I have to go and help my friends." Then, everything turned back into what it had been before, with the flowers all gone, having turned into a miasma and slipped off without the ponies noticing.

"Silver Star!" The ponies ran up to her.

"What happened? How'd you realize it was all a hallucination? Or did you deny it what it wanted." She smiled at Twilight.

"I saw Comet Tail, my little sister. She asked me to break my word of honor, but I couldn't. I made a promise, and not keeping it is even worse than not helping other people. But, without honor, then what would we have?" They started walking away as Twilight Sparkle smiled. They walked for a while, with Twilight in the lead, and then she stopped shortly in excitement.

"There it is! The ruin that holds the Elements of Harmony! We made it!" She charged off. Applejack looked really happy.

"Twilight! Wait for us!" They all went after her. Silver Star smiled.

"Glad we're here!" Twilight turned back towards them.

"We're almost there!" Then, she stopped, her front two hooves falling into a chasm. Rainbow Dash bit her tail and pulled her back.

"What's with you and falling off cliffs today?" Pinkie Pie sighed.

"Now what?" Song Shine smiled.

"I could try a spell to float us all over there." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"Or I could just fly down, grab the ends of the rope, and retie the bridge?" Song Shine looked a bit embarrassed.

"Or we could just do that." Rainbow Dash sighed and flew down, grabbing the end of one of the ropes, bringing up the bridge over to the other side. She put it down and tied one side of the bridge, but then she heard an ominous voice through the large amounts of fog.

"Rainbow." She dropped the other rope, leaving the bridge to be hanging on its side.

"Who's there?"

"Rainbow." She stood up on her two back hooves and thrust her hooves forward one at a time.

"I'm not scared of you! Show yourself!"

"We've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flier in Equestria." Rainbow Dash looked confused.

"Who?"

"Why, you of course!" Rainbow Dash looked happy and excited.

"Really?!" She then tried to play it cool. "I mean, oh yeah, me. Uh, you wouldn't mind telling the Wonderbolts that, would ya, cause, I've been trying to get into that group, for like, ever."

"No Rainbow Dash, we want you to join us, the Shadowbolts!" Three figures, two colts and one mare, came running through the fog. The mare was speaking. "We're the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forrest, and soon we will be the greatest ion all of Equestria." She started circling around Rainbow Dash. "But first, we need a captain." She then started flying in circles around Rainbow Dash. "The most magnificent-"

"Yep!"

"Swiftest-"

"Yes!"

"Bravest flier in all the land!"

"Yes, it's all true!"

"We need," she got right in Rainbow Dash's ear and whispered, "you." She shot up straight into the air.

"Sing me up!" She went back over to the bridge. "Just let me tie this bridge real quick, and then we have a deal." The mare got right in her face, keeping her from tying the bridge.

"No! It's them or us!" Rainbow Dash looked very conflicted. Twilight called out to her, but she didn't hear it..

"Rainbow! What's taking so long?" She then realized there were other people overt there. "Oh no! RAINBOW!" Silver Star flew up.

"I'll come over and help!" The fog closed up, and when Silver Star flew forward, she hit something. "Ow! It's like there's a shield or something! RAINBOW! RAINBOW!" Rainbow Dash couldn't hear any of them, even though they all started calling out to her. She looked very conflicted about the situation, but she finally had a resolve.

"You." The mare looked pleased, until Rainbow Dash continued. "Thank you, for the offer I mean," she went back to tie the bridge, "but I have to say no." The mare and the two colts looked angry as they disappeared into a cloud of smoke. With their disappearance, the smoke disappeared, as well as the shield. Rainbow Dash flew through it, to the end of the bridge. They all congratulated her. "See? I'd never leave my friends hanging." She flew ahead. Twilight smiled as she thought about that.

**In the Castle**

They all stood in awe. Rarity vocally expressed it.

"Whoa!" Strongshield nodded.

"Those are amazing!" Applejack turned towards Twilight.

"Come on Twilight, isn't this what you've been looking for?" Twilight smiled.

"We've found them! The Elements of Harmony!" Silver Star, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy each grabbed one at a time. "Careful, careful!" They carefully set down the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy brought down three each, while Silver Star only grabbed two. Pinkie Pie counted them.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, there's only eight!" Song Shine nodded.

"So then where's the ninth?" Twilight crouched down, inspecting them.

"The book said that when the five are present, a spark will cause the ninth Element to be revealed." Applejack looked confused.

"What in the hay is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not sure, but I have an idea. Stand back, I don't know what will happen!" They all backed up. Twilight's horn started lighting up. Song Shine started heading out.

"Come on. Magic is hard to do when there are distractions. Let's give her room to focus." They all started walking out. The blue cloud came in and took the Elements, swirling them around. Twilight was so surprised that she stopped her spell. She screamed, and everyone outside heard her.

"Twilight!" They all ran inside.

* * *

Inside, the cloud was swirling, until it disappeared, the Elements and Twilight with it. They were all scared and concerned. Applejack was calling out.

"Twilight, where are you?"

"Look!" Rarity pointed outside to another room of the castle that was glowing. Strongshield nodded.

"She's probably in there!" Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Let's go!" They all ran towards there.

Twilight appeared from a flash of white light and purple smoke. She started coughing, but then gasped as she saw Nightmare moon with all the Elements of Harmony. She looked scared, but then became determined, snorting and brushing her hoof on the ground. Nightmare Moon looked annoyed and disbelieving.

"You're kidding. You're kidding, right?" Her determination didn't waver. She charged, her horn glowing. Nightmare moon charged as well, but in a flash of light, Twilight teleported to the Elements.

"Just one spark! Come on, come on!" They started glowing with her magic. Nightmare Mon turned into a tornado of smoke, and went over to Twilight. Twilight sent a spark into the Elements, but they sent it right back and shocked her. They were still glowing and sparking.

"No, no!" Twilight Sparkle looked very proud, but then the spark died and they stopped glowing. She gasped.

"But, where's the ninth Element?" Nightmare Moon started laughing. She stomped her hooves on the ground, making the Elements come up and then land, shattering. Twilight's face was full of shock and despair at the falling shattered pieces of the Elements of Harmony. Nightmare moon stopped laughing.

"You little fool, thinking you could defeat me! Now you will never see your Princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!" Her starry mane swirled around her as she laughed. Twilight looked hopeless, but then she heard the voices of the mares who had comes with her, the ones who had gone through the toughest of circumstances with her. As she realized this, a spark lit up in her eyes. She smiled and turned to Nightmare Moon.

"You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony just like that? Well you're wrong, because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here!" All of her friends were beside her. The shards of the Elements started glowing.

"What?" Twilight turned towards Applejack.

"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt represents the Spirit of Honesty!" Glowing orange shards surrounded her. She then turned towards Song Shine. "Song Shine, who recognized a hurt heart and instead of fighting a monster, cared for it and broke a curse, represents the Spirit of Love!" Pink shards surrounded her. "Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore by showing it compassion represents the Spirit of kindness." Glowing yellow shards surrounded her. "Strongshield, who when everyone was afraid, didn't show any fear and stood up to a real monster, represents the Spirit of Courage." Glowing white shards surrounded her. "Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger represents the Spirit of Laughter." Glowing blue shards surrounded her. "Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the Spirit of Generosity." Glowing purple shards surrounded her. "Silver Star, who, even though she didn't know it wasn't real, refused to break her promise, even when it meant her little sister being upset, represents the Spirit of Honor." Glowing gray shards surrounded her. "And finally Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the Spirit of Loyalty." Glowing Red shards surrounded her. "The Spirits of these eight ponies got us through every challenge you threw our way, and a few other not involved with you!"

"You still don't have the ninth Element! The spark didn't work!"

"But it did, a different kind of spark." She turned towards the eight ponies. "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you, the spark ignited inside me, when I realized that you all are my friends!" Suddenly, a light flashed above them, and the ninth Element appeared. It came down and floated above Twilight. "You see Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the, the spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the ninth Element, the Element of Magic!" The shards all turned fully into the color that they had been glowing and then combined on their necks, creating golden necklaces with gems in the shapes of their Cutie Marks, with the gems the color of their glow. The Element of Magic came onto Twilight's head and turned into a golden crown with a gem on the top in the shape of her Cutie Mark. They all started floating, and from their necklaces/the crown came two rainbows that spiraled upward before combining into one, going towards Nightmare Moon.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" The rainbow hit the ground right in front of her before swirling around her in a tornado of rainbow. Twilight opened her eyes, which were glowing white. With that, the whole room became white.

When the light disappeared, they were all on the ground. Rainbow Dash held up her head with her hoof on it.

"Ohhh, my head!" Applejack looked around.

"Everypony okay?"

"Oh thank goodness!" Rarity was already up on her feet. Fluttershy smiled at her.

"Why Rarity, it's so lovely."

"I know!" She started waving her tail around, which was once again full length. "I'll never part with it again!" Fluttershy shook her head.

"No, your necklace," she said as she motioned towards Rarity's neck, "it looks just like your Cutie Mark!" She looked down at hers, then at Fluttershy's.

"No does yours!" Song Shine looked down at hers.

"Mine looks just like my heart notes!" Pinkie Pie was bounding.

"Look at mine, look at mine!" Silver Star looked at hers.

"Mine looks just like my star!" Strongshield nodded.

"And mine is exactly like my shield Cutie Mark!" Rainbow Dash cheered.

"Awwww yeah!" Applejack looked at Twilight.

"Gee Twilight, I thought you were just spouting a lot of hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the Elements of Friendship." A bright, golden light flashed by them.

"Indeed you do." The sun rose up, and out of the sun's light came a pristine white alicorn with a blue, green, darker blue, and pink flowing mane with a matching tail, a sun for her Cutie Mark, and violet eyes, smiling at them. Everyone short of Twilight bowed down, with Twilight smiling.

"Princess Celestia!" She trotted towards her mentor.

"Twilight Sparkle!=, my faithful student!" She brought her head down to show affection for her student. She then brought her head up again. "I knew you could do it." Twilight looked a bit confused.

"But, you told me it was an old pony tail."

"I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart." They smiled at each other. "Now if only another will as well." They were all shocked as Princess Celestia walked over towards where Nightmare Moon had once stood. Lying on the ground was an alicorn mare with a blue mane, a matching tail, a slightly darker blue coat, a dark spot with a crescent moon for her Cutie Mark, and blue eyes was there instead. "Princess Luna, it has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this." Princess Celestia got close to her and got down on the ground with her. She flinched, but did not feel the punishment she thought that she would. "Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together little sister." All of their eyes widened in shock.

"Sister?" Princess Celestia stood up.

"Will you accept my friendship?" They all looked anxiously, but Pinkie Pie fell over. It was tense, but Princess Luna ran up to her sister.

"I'm so sorry! I missed you so much big sister!" They were both crying.

"I've missed you too!" Pinkie Pie was bawling at the scene. She suddenly stopped bawling.

"Hey, you know what this calls for?"

**In Ponyville**

"A party!" Everybody was running to the center of the town, where everyone was celebrating. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were both being pulled on a carriage, and Spike ran to hug Twilight. Two adorable pegasus fillies put a flower necklace on Princess Luna, who was confused, but smiled at it. Twilight looked sad.

"Why so glum my faithful student?" Princess Celestia was by her. "Are you not glad that you are done with your quest and that you can return to your studies in Canterlot?" Twilight looked down at the ground.

"That's just it. Just when I learn how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them." Princess Celestia smiled.

"Spike, take a note please." He nodded and grabbed a quill and a piece of paper. "I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings, from her new home in Ponyville." All of her friends cheered as they went over to her. Twilight smiled.

"Oh, thank you Princess Celestia! I'll study harder than ever before!" Everybody started cheering. Then, Pinkie Pie broke the Forth Wall.

"Isn't this exciting?! Aren't you excited, cause I'm excited! I've never been so excited, well, except for the time I went 'HHHHHHUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH' but you know what I mean!"

**Well, how's the story? Is it too much with the OCs? Let me know!**


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